Max Diaries: Does He Get That from Me?

Christina Cox

by Christina Cox, new mom blogger

Max just turned two and like many two year-olds, he is very vocal about his preferences. It is fun to not only see his personality unfold, but also to see what his likes and dislikes are.We have him signed up for several classes, some of which he loves and some of which he hates. One class he loves is Gymnastics, where he jumps into an enormous foam pit, does seat drops on a giant trampoline and runs through obstacle courses. He loves it!!! He also loves Gymboree, where he gets to run non-stop, climb on equipment and do imaginary play and pretend he’s a mailman or a bear or a fireman. We also tried music class. He hated it. Sitting down listening to music or hearing a musical story was torture, he would try to get up and leave in the middle of class. Finally, he would just throw a tantrum and I’d take him out.I’ve heard that babies are born with their temperament, but I’ve been wondering why he likes certain things and dislikes others and why he has certain tendencies to do one thing and not the other. My husband and I have fun trying to figure it out. He is pretty verbal for his age and we both wonder if it’s because I have a problem with talking too much. I like to talk to my friends, my dog, my son and my husband, usually when he’s trying to go to sleep. So, having a little person around has been great, all I do is talk to him. He loves to talk. This is so me.Doing his own thing in his very own way might be a two year-old trait, but I think it is something he’s inherited from my husband too. Both tend to wander off and do things just a little different than the rest of the crowd. For example, I signed Max up for swim lessons and my husband agreed to take him. I watched them one day. During the lesson, I couldn’t find either one of them. All the other parents and toddlers were gathering in a circle doing bubbles and kicking. They weren’t in the circle. My husband and Max were on the other side of the pool having so much fun playing with a rocket missile they had found on the side of the pool. If that were me, I’d be right in the circle following exact directions!!!Max loves cars. And, he’s always loved cars. He likes construction vehicles too, like mixer trucks and dump trucks, but he LOVES cars and has an obsession for cerain ones such as his Dodge viper, Aston Martin or his Chevy Impala. And, if he’s looking for one, you can’t give him another one, because he knows which is which. Sometimes when we are in the car, he will call out correctly when he sees a BMW, a Jaguar or Range Rover. Where does he get that love of cars from?He loves school and books, that’s definitely Mom. He loves machines, definitely Dad. He loves being active and sports, probably both of us. But his love for cars (he sleeps with a stuffed Mini-Cooper at all times), is all his own. There are other things: the way he gently pats a younger, little girl who is standing next to him; the way he hugs adults without being prompted; he even shook a man’s hand once and said “Nice to meet you!” I can’t wait to find out more. His little life and personality is like an exciting story that unfolds a little bit every day. It’s really beautiful discovering who this little person is. I love every minute.